Jorge Martin wins US MotoGP sprint as Marco Bezzecchi crashes out
Jorge Martin wins a chaotic US MotoGP sprint ahead of Francesco Bagnaia
Jorge Martin has taken a shock first win with Aprilia in the US MotoGP sprint, while team-mate Marco Bezzecchi crashed out from second place.
The race got underway with both factory Ducatis making a breathtaking start, as Francesco Bagnaia went from fourth to first, while Marc Marquez jumped from sixth to third.
Polesitter Fabio Di Giannantonio was soon back ahead of Marquez, however, the Italian’s hopes of a first sprint win in 2026 ended just a few turns later when Marquez dived down the inside, only to lose the front-end of his GP26 and wipe out Di Giannantonio.
The incident took place at turn 12, and will be investigated by the stewards, with Marquez expected to be penalised for Sunday’s grand prix.
On lap four, Martin began his charge towards the front, as he overtook both Joan Mir and Pedro Acosta.
Keep up to date with our 2026 US MotoGP sprint reaction live.
One lap later and it was the turn of his team-mate Bezzecchi, who had dropped from second to seventh on the opening lap, to regain a top three position as he picked off Acosta.
Bezzecchi then continued his charge as he took second place away from Martin, although Bagnaia was continuing to dominate out front.
The drama was far from over though, as Bezzecchi, who was still under pressure from Martin despite his earlier pass, crashed out of the sprint at turn 11.
The crashes continued to come, as Mir fell from a very strong points scoring position, while Yamaha’s Alex Rins also went down.
Just as it looked as though things had settled down with two laps to go, Bagnaia lost over a second to Martin on the penultimate lap, as his soft rear tyre started running out of grip.
Martin, who made a late switch before the race to the medium rear, then pounced at turn 12 on the final lap, with a forceful move that made Bagnaia sit up in the middle of the corner. Martin held on to claim his first win for Aprilia ahead of Bagnaia and Acosta, although the KTM rider is facing a tyre pressure investigation.
As if the COTA sprint had not seen enough drama, Martin then crashed on the slow down lap, when pulling a celebratory wheelie. The Spaniard was unhurt from his fall.
